We don't tax the rich?
What percentage of income taxes do you think the bottom 50% of tax payers pay? What percentage of income taxes do you think the richest 1% pay?
(Answer key: Q1 - 3%, Q2 - 39%)
We tax the rich.
What percentage of income taxes do you think the bottom 50% of tax payers pay? What percentage of income taxes do you think the richest 1% pay?
(Answer key: Q1 - 3%, Q2 - 39%)
We tax the rich.
1. Your 3% and 39% actually reflect how much more absolute income the rich generate compared to others. For example, if a rich person has $10 million in income and someone from the bottom 50% person has $100k in income, even a 15% income tax (for example) is $1.5 million and $15k respectively. Given our massive wealth inequality, your 39% income tax number tells us that the top 1% are capturing a massive chunk of the total income generated in the US. A quick quote from a 2021 Forbes article: "billionaires collectively hold two-thirds more wealth than the bottom 50 percent of all households in the United States, according to an analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies." - more wealth generates more absolute income.
2. By focusing solely on income tax, you're ignoring Total Taxes, which for example include sales tax. Low-income Americans face higher payroll tax rates than rich Americans. There are also many more tax-reducing benefits for the poor in our tax code, for example, Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends overwhelmingly accrue to the rich.
Tax analysed in absolute dollar terms is misleading. What should be analysed is the tax's effect on a person's quality of life. A person with a million dollar income paying 50% tax still has 500k to burn. A person paying 30% at 50k a year has 35k left. That 30% means a lot more at the lower end, even though the dollar amount pales in comparison.
They also don't get audited.
Do the rich pay taxes? No.
See: rich people asking to be taxed more before 'something bad' happens.
Do rich pay taxes? Yes.
I don't follow this framing. You are saying we should look at taxes as "how much money does the government allow someone to have"?
This seems to assume a government has a right to take an arbitrary amount of money from its citizens. Do you believe this?